Battery module and battery pack including the same

ABSTRACT

A battery module includes a plurality of battery cells stacked on one another in a first direction and configured to form a stacked structure. In particular, some battery cells of the plurality of battery cells are coated with hot melt respectively interposed between some battery cells of the plurality of battery cells to fix the battery cells. The battery module further includes a pair of end plates that surface-contact with opposite end battery cells of the stacked structure; and a pair of bus bar assemblies arranged at opposite ends of the stacked structure in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction and configured to connect electrodes of the plurality of battery cells located at opposite ends in the second direction to each other.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation application of non-provisional U.S.patent application Ser. No. 17/410,110, filed on Aug. 24, 2021, whichclaims priority to and the benefit of Korean Patent Application No.10-2020-0124710, filed on Sep. 25, 2020, the entire contents of each ofwhich are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a battery module and a battery packincluding the same.

BACKGROUND

The statements in this section merely provide background informationrelated to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.

Recently, in accordance with the global trend of reducing carbon dioxideemissions, there has been increasing demand for electric vehicles thatgenerate driving power by driving a motor using electric energy storedin an energy storage device such as a battery instead of a typicalinternal combustion engine vehicle that generates driving power throughcombustion of fossil fuels.

The performance of electric vehicles is highly dependent upon thecapacity and performance of the battery corresponding to an energystorage device that stores electrical energy provided to a drivingmotor.

We have discovered that a battery for a vehicle for storing electricalenergy supplied to a motor in order to generate driving power of thevehicle needs to have excellent electrical properties, such as excellentcharge and discharge performance and long use lifespan, and to alsoprovide performance at a high level in terms of a mechanical aspect,which is robust to a severe driving environment, such as hightemperature and high vibration.

We have found that it is advantageous to configure hardware of a batteryin the form of a module having a standardized size and capacity so as tobe consistently applied to various types of vehicles from a point ofview of manufacturers of vehicles.

The contents described as the related art have been provided only toassist in understanding the background of the present disclosure andshould not be considered as corresponding to the related art known tothose having ordinary skill in the art.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure provides a battery module having a standardizedsize and capacity to be consistently applied to various types ofvehicles, and a battery pack including the battery module.

In particular, the present disclosure provides a battery module and abattery pack including the battery module for stably maintaining astacked structure of stacked battery cells.

According to an exemplary form of the present disclosure, a batterymodule includes: a plurality of battery cells stacked on one another ina first direction and configured to form a stacked structure, whereinsome battery cells of the plurality of battery cells are coated with hotmelt respectively interposed between battery cells of the plurality ofbattery cells to fix the battery cells of the plurality of batterycells; and a pair of end plates that respectively surface-contact withopposite end battery cells of the stacked structure in the firstdirection.

The stacked structure may include a plurality of cell assembliesincluding a pair of battery cells stacked across a surface pressure padinterposed therebetween, and the plurality of cell assemblies may bestacked in the first direction.

In the cell assembly, the battery cells may be stacked to positionrespective electrodes having the same polarity adjacent to each other.

The cell assemblies in the stacked structure may be stacked on oneanother to arrange respective electrodes having different polaritiesadjacent to each other.

The hot melt may be coated between the stacked cell assemblies.

The hot melt may be coated to have a plurality of rows in a directionparallel to a lengthwise side of a bonding surface of the battery cellsthat surface-contact each other.

The hot melt may be coated in a matrix pattern having a plurality ofcolumns and a plurality of rows parallel to each side of a bondingsurface of the battery cells that surface-contact each other.

The battery module may further include a pair of bus bar assembliesarranged at opposite ends of the stacked structure in a second directionperpendicular to the first direction and for connecting electrodes ofthe plurality of battery cells to each other, a first cover for coveringone surface of the stacked structure in a third direction perpendicularto the first direction and the second direction, a first clamp includingopposite ends that are respectively bonded to the pair of end platesacross the first cover at an outside of the first cover, and a secondclamp including opposite ends that are respectively bonded to the pairof end plates across a surface of the stacked structure, which faces thesurface on which the first cover is disposed.

Each of the pair of end plates may include an internal plate thatsurface-contacts the stacked structure and is formed of an insulationmaterial, and an external plate that covers the internal plate at anoutside of the internal plate and has higher rigidity than the internalplate.

The external plate may include an insert space that is formed at an endadjacent to the first cover and into which a temperature sensor spacedapart from the stacked structure at a predetermined interval isinserted.

The bus bar assembly may include a bus bar including a plurality ofslits, and regions of the electrodes of the plurality of battery cells,which are positioned through the slits, may be bent and connected to thebus bar.

The bus bar assemblies may include a circuit for detecting a voltage ofthe battery cell.

The first clamp may be bonded to the first cover, and the opposite endsof the first clamp may be bent to respectively face the pair of endplates and to be bonded to outer surfaces of the end plates.

The opposite ends of the second clamp may be bent to face the pair ofend plates and to be bonded to outer surfaces of the end plates.

The battery module may further include second and third covers forcovering the stacked structure in the second direction at an outside ofthe pair of bus bar assemblies, respectively.

According to another form of the present disclosure, a battery pack mayinclude a battery module including a plurality of battery cells stackedon one another in a first direction, hot melt being coated and fixingbetween at least some of the plurality of battery cells, a pair of endplates that surface-contact opposite ends in the first direction of astacked structure in which the plurality of battery cells is stacked andfix a distance therebetween, a pair of bus bar assemblies arranged atopposite ends of the stacked structure in a second directionperpendicular to the first direction and for connecting electrodes ofthe plurality of battery cells located at opposite ends in the seconddirection to each other, a first cover for covering one surface of thestacked structure in a third direction perpendicular to the firstdirection and the second direction, a first clamp including oppositeends that are respectively bonded to the pair of end plates across thefirst cover at an outside of the first cover, and a second clampincluding opposite ends that are respectively bonded to the pair of endplates across a surface of the stacked structure, which faces thesurface on which the first cover is disposed, and a case including anaccommodation surface on which the battery module is accommodated,wherein the stacked structure is exposed through one surface of thebattery module, which faces the surface on which the first cover isdisposed, the battery module is disposed to position the exposed stackedstructure and the accommodation surface to face each other, and a gapfiller is interposed between the stacked structure and the accommodationsurface.

The case may further include a cooling channel through which coolingwater flows at a lower portion of the accommodation surface.

The stacked structure may include a plurality of cell assembliesincluding a pair of battery cells stacked across a surface pressure padinterposed therebetween, the plurality of cell assemblies may be stackedin the first direction, and the hot melt may be coated between thestacked cell assemblies.

The hot melt may be coated to have a plurality of rows in a directionparallel to a lengthwise side of a bonding surface of the battery cellsthat surface-contact each other.

The hot melt may be coated in a matrix pattern having a plurality ofcolumns and a plurality of rows parallel to each side of a bondingsurface of the battery cells that surface-contact each other.

Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the descriptionprovided herein. It should be understood that the description andspecific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and arenot intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

DRAWINGS

In order that the disclosure may be well understood, there will now bedescribed various forms thereof, given by way of example, referencebeing made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a battery module viewed from aboveaccording to an exemplary form of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the battery module shown in FIG. 1viewed from below;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the battery module shown inFIG. 1 ;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a cellassembly in a battery module according to an exemplary form of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a stackstructure of battery cells of a battery module according to another formof the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a coating pattern of hot meltcoated between battery cells in a battery module according to exemplaryforms of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a positional relationship between astacked structure of battery modules and end plates according to oneform of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged plan view of an outer surface and an inner surfaceof the end plate shown in FIG. 7 ;

FIG. 9 is a more detailed cross-sectional view showing an insert spaceformed on the external plate shown in FIG. 8 ;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a positional relationship betweena stacked structure of battery modules and bus bar assemblies accordingto an exemplary form of the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 is a more enlarged plan view of a bus bar assembly applied to abattery module according to an exemplary form of the present disclosure;

FIG. 12 is a plan view showing the state in which a bus bar of the busbar assembly shown in FIG. 11 and electrodes of battery cells in astacked structure are bonded to each other;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing a positional relationship of acover, a first clamp, a second clamp, and a stacked structure of abattery module according to an exemplary form of the present disclosure;

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing one end of the first clamp shown in FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing a positional relationship of asecond cover, a third cover, and a stacked structure of a battery moduleaccording to an exemplary form of the present disclosure;

FIG. 16 is a detailed diagram showing a structure in which a secondcover and a third cover are assembled with each other in a batterymodule according to an exemplary form of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view showing a portion of a battery pack inwhich a battery module is accommodated according to an exemplary form ofthe present disclosure.

The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and arenot intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is notintended to limit the present disclosure, application, or uses. Itshould be understood that throughout the drawings, correspondingreference numerals indicate like or corresponding parts and features.

Hereinafter, a battery module and a battery pack including the sameaccording to exemplary forms of the present disclosure will be describedin detail with reference to the attached drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a battery module viewed from aboveaccording to an exemplary form of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is aperspective view of the battery module shown in FIG. 1 viewed frombelow. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the battery moduleshown in FIG. 1 .

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3 , a battery module 10 according to anexemplary form of the present disclosure may include: a plurality ofbattery cells 110 stacked on one another in a first direction (an x-axisdirection), a pair of end plates 20 that are respectively surface-bondedto two opposite end battery cells in the first direction of a stackedstructure 100 of the plurality of battery cells 110, a pair of bus barassemblies 30 that are arranged at opposite ends in a second direction(a y-axis direction) perpendicular to the first direction of the stackedstructure 100 of the battery cells 110 and that connect electrodes ofthe plurality of battery cells 110 to each other, a first cover 40 thatcovers one surface of the stacked structure 100 of the plurality ofbattery cells 110 in a third direction (a z-axis direction)perpendicular to the first direction and the second direction, a firstclamp 51 having opposite ends that are respectively bonded to the pairof end plates 20 across the first cover 40 at the outside of the firstcover 40, and a second clamp 52 having opposite ends that arerespectively bonded to the two end plates 20 across a surface of thestacked structure 100 of the plurality of battery cells 110, which facesthe surface on which the first cover 40 is disposed.

In addition, the battery module according to an exemplary form of thepresent disclosure may include second and third covers 60 that cover thestacked structure 100 of the battery cells 110 in the second directionat the outside of the bus bar assemblies 30, respectively.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a cellassembly in a battery module according to an exemplary form of thepresent disclosure. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing theconfiguration of a stack structure of battery cells of a battery moduleaccording to another form of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 4 , the stacked structure of the plurality of batterycells 110 may include a cell assembly 11 including the two battery cells110 and a surface pressure pad 120 interposed therebetween by stackingone battery cell 110, a surface pressure pad 120, and another batterycell 110 on one another. That is, as shown in FIG. 5 , the stackedstructure 100 may be manufactured by stacking the plurality of cellassemblies 11 shown in FIG. 4 .

In one cell assembly 11 of a battery, the battery cells 110 may bearranged to position respective electrodes having the same polarity(e.g., positive electrodes 111 a or negative electrodes 111 b) adjacentto each other.

The surface pressure pad 120 may be an element for preventing thestructure of the module from being deformed by providing flexibilitywhen swelling of the battery cells 110 occurs.

The plurality of cell assemblies 11 may be stacked on one another byinterposing hot melt H therebetween. The hot melt H may be a kind ofliquid binder for achieving adhesion when applied with heat, and may becoated in a preset pattern on a surface of the battery cell 110 beforethe plurality of cell assemblies 11 is stacked on one another, and inthis regard, the desired positional relationship between the batterycells may be achieved by aligning the battery cells and applying heat atone time after stacking the cell assemblies 11.

Conventionally, a double-sided adhesive tape is mainly used to form astacked structure of a battery. When the double-sided adhesive tape isapplied, this is disadvantageous to miniaturize the stacked structuredue to a thickness of the tape. When the double-sided adhesive tape isapplied, a stripe process of the tape needs to be added, and thus it maybe disadvantageous in terms of a process of a battery module. In thecase of the double-sided adhesive tape, there is a limit in adhesivestrength, and thus when a load is applied to a stacked structure duringa process of manufacturing a battery module, there is a serious problemin that alignment of stacked battery cells is destroyed. If such aproblem occurs in alignment of the battery cells, a gap fillerinterposed between a battery cell and a bottom surface of a case of thebattery pack does not come in contact with a portion of the battery cellwhen a battery module is accommodated in the battery pack, and thus aproblem occurs in that heat generated in the battery cells is not easilydissipated.

On the other hand, according to an exemplary form of the presentdisclosure, the size of a gap desired to bond battery cells may bereduced and a separate strip process may not be required by applying hotmelt to be coated in a liquid state. In addition, appropriate adhesivestrength between the stacked battery cells may be provided byappropriately adjusting the material and coating form of the hot melt,and simultaneously, a reduction in the weight of the battery cells maybe facilitated by optimizing the usage of the hot melt.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a coating pattern of hot meltcoated between battery cells in a battery module according to anotherform of the present disclosure.

An inventor of the present disclosure applied shearing force in adirection parallel to a bonding surface of a battery cell and testedwhether bonding is destroyed after applying a total of seven patterns,coating hot melt, and manufacturing a stacked structure, as shown inFIG. 6 .

Pattern 1 of FIG. 6 corresponds to an example in which the hot melt H iscoated to have three rows parallel to a lengthwise side (a side formedin the second direction) of the battery cells 110. In the case of thispattern, hot melt may be coated in a wide region to achieve sufficientadhesive strength. However, pattern 1 may be disadvantageous due to ahigh weight of the coated hot melt H compared with other coatedpatterns.

Pattern 2 of FIG. 6 corresponds to an example in which the hot melt H iscoated to have two rows parallel to a lengthwise side (a side formed inthe second direction) of the battery cells 110. In the case of thispattern, adhesive strength may be relatively degraded compared withpattern 1, but relatively satisfactory adhesive strength may beachieved, and pattern 2 may be more advantageous than pattern 1 in thatthe weight of the hot melt H is reduced compared with Pattern 1.

Pattern 3 of FIG. 6 corresponds to an example in which the hot melt H iscoated in a matrix pattern having two rows and three columns parallel torespective sides of the bonding surface of the battery cell 110. In thecase of this pattern, adhesive strength may be relatively degradedcompared with pattern 2, but the weight of the hot melt H may be furtherreduced while providing appropriate adhesive strength at a desiredlevel, and thus pattern 3 may be more advantageous than patterns 1 and2.

Pattern 4 of FIG. 6 corresponds to an example in which the hot melt H iscoated in a matrix pattern having two rows and two columns parallel torespective sides of the bonding surface of the battery cell 110 andcoating of hot melt is omitted at a portion corresponding to the centerin the second direction. It may not be possible to apply this pattern inthat the shape of a battery surface is not uniform when battery cellsare bonded.

Pattern 5 of FIG. 6 corresponds to an example in which the hot melt H iscoated in one row parallel to a lengthwise side of the battery cell 110and pattern 6 of FIG. 6 corresponds to an example in which the hot meltH is coated in a pattern having one row and three columns. It may not bepossible to apply patterns 5 and 6 in that bonding is destroyed due toapplication of shearing force.

Pattern 7 of FIG. 6 corresponds to an example in which the hot melt H iscoated in a pattern having one row parallel to a lengthwise side and twocolumns. It may not be possible to apply pattern 7 in that the shape ofa battery surface is not uniform when battery cells are bonded.

As seen from the test result of FIG. 6 , it may be desirable that hotmelt is coated in a pattern having a plurality of rows parallel to alengthwise side of a bonding surface of a battery cell or a pattern of amatrix form having a plurality of rows and a plurality of columnsparallel to each side of a bonding surface of a battery cell and thathot melt is coated on both an end portion and a central portion in adirection of the lengthwise side of the bonding surface.

The cell assemblies 11 in the stacked structure may be stacked on oneanother to arrange respective electrodes having different polaritiesadjacent to each other in order to achieve an electrical connectionrelationship in series between cell assemblies when the electrodes ofthe battery cells and bus bars of the bus bar assemblies 30, which willbe described below, are connected to each other. That is, the batterycells in the cell assembly 11 may be electrically connected in series,and the cell assemblies 11 may be electrically connected in series.

Hereinafter, for convenience of description, a direction in which thebattery cells 110 are stacked will be referred to as a first direction(an x-axis direction) and a direction perpendicular to the firstdirection, in which the electrodes of the battery cell 110 are connectedto each other, will be referred to as a second direction (a y-axisdirection). In addition, a direction perpendicular to the firstdirection and the second direction, that is, a direction in which sideson which electrodes of the battery cells 110 are not formed areconnected to each other will be referred to as a third direction (az-axis direction).

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a positional relationship between astacked structure of battery modules and end plates according to anexemplary form of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 7 , the pair of end plates 20 may be arranged tosurface-contact surfaces at opposite ends of the stacked structure 100in the first direction as a stack direction of the stacked structure 100of the battery cells, that is, exposed surfaces of the outermost batterycells among the plurality of battery cells 110 included in the stackedstructure 100.

The pair of end plates 20 may be an element for maintaining an intervaltherebetween to prevent the battery module from being deformed and touniformly maintain surface pressure between the stacked battery cells110 due to the rigidity of the end plates 20 itself when swelling of thebattery cells 110 occurs. Thus, the end plates 20 may also include anadditional device that has sufficient rigidity to prevent the batterymodule from being deformed while maintaining surface-contact with thebattery cells 110 and achieves the uniformity of surface pressure.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged plan view of an outer surface and an inner surfaceof the end plate shown in FIG. 7 .

As shown in FIG. 8 , each end plate 20 may include an external plate 201exposed outside the battery module 10 and an internal plate 202 that iscovered by the external plate 201 and surface-contacts the stackedstructure 100 of the battery. The external plate 201 may be formed of ametallic material to be lightweight while providing sufficient rigidity,and the internal plate 202 may be formed of an insulation material suchas plastic, which has degraded rigidity compared with the external plate201 but provides electric insulation when surface-contacting theoutermost battery cells 110 of the stacked structure 100.

FIG. 9 is a more detailed cross-sectional view showing an insert spaceformed on the external plate shown in FIG. 8 .

According to an exemplary form, an insert space T into which atemperature sensor 80 spaced apart from the stacked structure 100 at apredetermined interval is inserted may be formed at a side positioned inthe second direction of the external plate 201 of the end plate 20 usingvarious metal molding technologies. A region in which the insert space Tis formed may correspond to a portion ‘A’ shown in FIGS. 1, 7, and 8 ,and FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing the portion ‘A’ taken alongthe first direction.

One battery pack may be embodied by arranging the plurality of batterymodules 10 according to an exemplary form of the present disclosure in acase designed according to a vehicle type. In general, it is desired torecognize an internal temperature in order to manage a battery pack anda battery module is manufactured to have a temperature sensor installedtherein. The battery module according to an exemplary form of thepresent disclosure may provide the space T for installing a temperaturesensor therein after a plurality of battery modules is arranged in acase rather than having a temperature sensor in the module itself.

In particular, the battery module 10 according to an exemplary form ofthe present disclosure may not include a separate covering element on anopposite surface to a surface on which the first cover 40 is installed,a battery cell is exposed out of the opposite surface, and the surfacethrough which the battery cells is exposed may be arranged to face abottom surface of the case. Accordingly, the insert space T of thetemperature sensor may be formed to provide a predetermined spacebetween the stacked structure of the battery cells and the externalplate 201 at an end of the external plate 201 adjacent to the firstcover 40.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a positional relationship betweena stacked structure of battery modules and bus bar assemblies accordingto another form of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 10 , the bus bar assemblies 30 may be installed atopposite ends in the second direction perpendicular to a direction inwhich the stacked structure 100 of battery cells is stacked, that is, ina direction in which the electrodes 111 a and 111 b of the battery cell110 are connected to each other.

The bus bar assembly 30 may be an electrode including a bus bar forforming electrical connection between the electrodes 111 a and 111 b ofthe battery cells 110 in the stacked structure 100.

FIG. 11 is a more enlarged plan view of a bus bar assembly applied to abattery module according to an exemplary form of the present disclosure.FIG. 12 is a plan view showing the state in which a bus bar of the busbar assembly shown in FIG. 11 and electrodes of battery cells in astacked structure are bonded to each other.

As shown in FIG. 11 , the bus bar assembly 30 may include a frame 31formed of an insulation material such as plastic, and a bus bar 32attached to the frame 31 and having slits 33 into which the electrodes111 a and 111 b of the battery cells 110 are to be inserted. An intervalbetween the slits 33 may correspond to an interval between theelectrodes 111 a and 111 b of the battery cells 110 positioned in thestacked structure 100. The frame 31 may include a partition 35 formedbetween bus bars that need to be electrically insulated from each other.

The bus bar assembly 30 may include a circuit 34 for monitoring avoltage of the battery cell 110 included in the battery module. Here,the circuit 34 may include a circuit board such as a PCB, an electricdevice installed thereon, and the like.

As shown in FIG. 12 , when the electrodes 111 a and 111 b of the batterycells 110 are inserted into the slits 33 formed in the bus bar 32 of thebus bar assembly 30, an entirety of the electrodes 111 a and 111 b ofthe battery cells 110 may be bent at one time and may come into contactwith the bus bar 32, and then, the bus bar 32 and the electrodes 111 aand 111 b of the battery cells 110 may be bonded to each other through asingle welding operation. In FIG. 12 , reference numeral ‘W’ indicates aregion which is irradiated with welding energy for welding.

In the case of a conventional battery module, electrical connection of astacked structure of battery cells may be achieved by bending electrodesof a unit battery cell in advance and performing primary welding andthen stacking the plurality of unit battery cells and performingsecondary welding gain. Such a conventional method has a problem in thata plurality of bending and welding processes is performed and it isdifficult to provide uniformity thereof, thus causing a step differenceat a welding target during secondary welding.

However, as shown in FIG. 10 , according to an exemplary form of thepresent disclosure, overall electrical connection between the batterycells in the battery module may be achieved through a single bendingprocess and a single welding process by applying the bus bar assemblies30, thereby simplifying a manufacturing process and improving productquality.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing a positional relationship of acover, a first clamp, a second clamp, and a stacked structure of abattery module according to an exemplary form of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 13 , the first cover 40 may be disposed at one end ofthe stacked structure 100 in the third direction of the stackedstructure 100 of battery cells.

The first clamp 51 configured in the form of a bar extending in thefirst direction may be disposed across the stacked structure 100 outsidethe first cover 40, and opposite ends of the first clamp 51 may bebonded to the pair of end plates 20, respectively.

The second clamp 52 configured in a bar extending in the first directionmay be disposed adjacent to one surface facing the other surface of thestacked structure 100, on which the first cover 40 is disposed, acrossthe stacked structure 100, and opposite ends of the second clamp 52 maybe bonded to the pair of end plates 20, respectively.

The first clamp 51 may be fixed to the first cover 40 using a methodsuch as thermal fusion, and the opposite ends of the first clamp 51 maybe bonded to the two end plates 20, respectively, and thus a distancebetween the end plates 20 may also be maintained when swelling of thebattery cells 110 occurs. The second clamp 52 may be spaced apart fromthe exposed surface of the stacked structure 100 (which is a lowersurface in the drawing) adjacent thereto and may also maintain adistance between the two end plates 20 when swelling of the batterycells occurs, like the first clamp 51.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing one end of the first clamp shown in FIG. 13.

As shown in FIG. 14 , an end of the first clamp 51 may be configuredlike a hook bent in a direction toward the end plate 20, and the bentend may face an outer surface of the end plate 20. The bent end may bewelded to an outer surface adjacent to one side of the end plate 20(‘W’: welding region) and may be fixed to the end plate 20. The bondingstructure shown in FIG. 12 may also be applied to the second clamp 52 inthe same way.

As such, a constant interval between the two end plates may bemaintained at the center in the second direction of the end plate andthe rigidity from the end plates may be applied to the battery cellsinside the end plates by bonding the first clamp 51 to one side (anupper side in the drawing) of each of the two end plate 20 and bondingthe second clamp 52 to a side (a lower side in the drawing) of each ofthe two end plate 20, which faces the side to which the first clamp 51is bonded.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing a positional relationship of asecond cover, a third cover, and a stacked structure of a battery moduleaccording to an exemplary form of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 15 , the second and third covers 60 may be arranged atopposite ends of the stacked structure 100 in the second directionperpendicular to a direction in which the stacked structure 100 ofbattery cells is stacked, that is, in a direction in which theelectrodes 111 a and 111 b of the battery cell 110 are connected to eachother. Here, the second and third covers 60 are substantially the samecomponents that are installed at symmetrical positions of the batterymodule 10, and thus may be denoted by the same reference numeral.

The battery module 10 may be lastly completed by installing the secondand third covers 60 to cover the bus bar assemblies 30. The second andthird covers 60 may include through holes for exposing elementstherethrough (e.g., a portion of a bus bar that needs to be exposed forexternal electrical connection or a connector for providing informationon detection of a cell voltage) which need to be exposed out of thebattery module among elements included in the bus bar assemblies 30.

FIG. 16 is a detailed diagram showing a structure in which a secondcover and a third cover are assembled with each other in a batterymodule according to another form of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 16 , a lateral portion of the second and third covers60 may come into contact with the end plate 20. The end plate 20 and thelateral portion of the second and third covers 60 may be coupled to eachother by the bolts 21. Although not shown, in the two end plates 20, thebolts 21 may be coupled to opposite ends of one long nut disposed insidethe covers 60.

Protrusions 61 protruding in the first direction may be formed on thelateral portion of the second and third covers 60, and an edge of theend plate 20 may be caught by the protrusions 61 to achieve assemblytherebetween.

FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view showing a portion of a battery pack inwhich a battery module is accommodated according to another form of thepresent disclosure. In particular, FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view ofa battery module and a case of a battery pack taken along a line AA′shown in FIG. 1 in the state in which the battery module is accommodatedin the case of the battery pack.

As shown in FIG. 17 , the battery module 10 according to one form of thepresent disclosure may be accommodated in a case 910 of the batterypack. A bottom surface of the case 910 of the battery pack may be anaccommodation surface on which the battery module 10 is accommodated.

As described above, the battery module 10 may be configured to exposethe battery cells 110 rather than including a separate cover one surfacein the third direction. The battery module 10 may be accommodated in thebattery pack to position the surface, through which the battery cells110 are exposed, to face the accommodation surface. When the batterymodule is accommodated, the battery cells 110 of the battery module 10and the accommodation surface of the case 910 may indirectly contacteach other by filling a gap filler 920 between the accommodation surfaceof the case 910 of the battery pack and the exposed portion of thebattery module.

Here, the gap filler 920 may be a thermal interface material fortransferring heat generated from the battery cells 110 to the case 910.The heat generated from the battery cells 110 may be more easilydissipated through connection between the battery cells 110 and theaccommodation surface (the bottom surface) of the case 910 by the gapfiller 920 without other interference elements.

A cooling channel C through which cooling water flows may be formed in aregion corresponding to a lower portion of the accommodation surface ofthe battery module of the case 910 of the battery pack, thereby furtherimproving an effect of dissipating heat generated from the battery cells110.

In particular, according to various forms of the present disclosure, astacked state may be fixed by coating hot melt between the battery cells110 when a stacked structure is manufactured by stacking the batterycells 110, and thus, the battery cells included in the stack structuremay be stably maintained without misalignment between the battery cells.In FIG. 17 , reference numeral ‘S’ indicates the position of a bondingsurface on which the hot melt is coated. Accordingly, the accommodationsurface of the module of the case 910 of the battery pack and all of thebattery cells 110 in the stacked structure may come into contact witheach other by the gap filler 920, and thus cooling mismatch may notoccur and heat generated from the battery module may be stablydissipated through the cooling channel.

As described above, in the battery module and the battery pack includingthe same according to the various forms of the present disclosure,sufficient rigidity may be provided by welding the clamp to the endplates at opposite sides and coupling the end plates to the cover atopposite sides by bolts at the center of the battery module in adirection in which battery cells are stacked.

In the battery module and the battery pack including the same accordingto the various forms of the present disclosure, the electricalconnection between electrodes may be achieved by a single bendingprocess and a single welding process by applying the bus bar assemblies,and accordingly, a manufacturing process may be simplified and a resultdeviation between battery cells may be removed, thereby improvingproduct quality.

In the battery module and the battery pack including the same accordingto the various forms of the present disclosure, battery cells includedin a battery pack may be manufactured in the form of a module, and thus,even if specifications of the battery pack are changed depending on avehicle type, a standardized battery cell may be applied to batterypacks of various specifications, and accordingly, a separate designprocess for arranging the battery cells in the battery pack may beomitted, thereby reducing a development period and development cost.

In the battery module and the battery pack including the same accordingto the various forms of the present disclosure, the battery cells in thebattery module may come into contact into the accommodation surface ofthe case of the battery pack by a gap filler without other interferenceelements, and accordingly the heat generated from the battery cells maybe more effectively dissipated.

In the battery module and the battery pack including the same accordingto the various forms of the present disclosure, relative positionsbetween the stacked battery cells may be stably fixed by coating hotmelt on at least a portion of the stacked battery cell when a stackedstructure is manufactured by stacking the battery cells, and thus evenif a load is applied to the stacked structure during a process ofmanufacturing a battery module or a process of manufacturing a batterypack including a battery module after cells are stacked, it is possibleto prevent the stacked structure from being deformed or misalignmentbetween the stacked cells.

In the battery module and the battery pack including the same accordingto the various forms of the present disclosure, sufficient rigidity maybe provided by welding the clamp to the end plates at opposite sides andcoupling the end plates to the cover at opposite sides through bolts atthe center of the battery module in a direction in which battery cellsare stacked.

In the battery module and the battery pack including the same accordingto the various forms of the present disclosure, the electricalconnection between electrodes may be achieved through a single bendingprocess and a single welding process by applying the bus bar assemblies,and accordingly, a manufacturing process may be simplified and a resultdeviation between battery cells may be removed, thereby improvingproduct quality.

In the battery module and the battery pack including the same accordingto the various forms of the present disclosure, battery cells includedin a battery pack may be manufactured in the form of a module, and thus,even if specifications of the battery pack are changed depending on avehicle type, a standardized battery cell may be applied to batterypacks of various specifications, and accordingly, a separate designprocess for arranging the battery cells in the battery pack may beomitted, thereby reducing a development period and development cost.

In the battery module and the battery pack including the same accordingto the various forms of the present disclosure, the battery cells in thebattery module may come into contact into the accommodation surface ofthe case of the battery pack through a gap filler without otherinterference elements, and accordingly the heat generated from thebattery cells may be more effectively dissipated.

In the battery module and the battery pack including the same accordingto the various forms of the present disclosure, relative positionsbetween the stacked battery cells may be stably fixed by coating hotmelt on at least a portion of the stacked battery cell when a stackedstructure is manufactured by stacking the battery cells, and thus evenif a load is applied to the stacked structure during a process ofmanufacturing a battery module or a process of manufacturing a batterypack including a battery module after cells are stacked, it is possibleto prevent the stacked structure from being deformed or misalignmentbetween the stacked cells.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the effectsachievable through the present disclosure are not limited to those thathave been particularly described hereinabove and that other unmentionedeffects of the present disclosure will be more clearly understood fromthe above detailed description.

Although the present disclosure has been shown and described withrespect to specific forms, it will be apparent to those having ordinaryskill in the art that the present disclosure may be variously modifiedand altered without departing from the spirit and scope of the presentdisclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A battery module comprising: a plurality ofbattery cells stacked on one another in a first direction and configuredto form a stacked structure, wherein some battery cells of the pluralityof battery cells are coated with hot melt respectively interposedbetween battery cells of the plurality of battery cells to fix thebattery cells of the plurality of battery cells; a pair of end platesconfigured to respectively surface-contact with opposite end batterycells of the stacked structure in the first direction; a pair of bus barassemblies arranged at opposite ends of the stacked structure in asecond direction perpendicular to the first direction and configured toconnect electrodes of the plurality of battery cells located at oppositeends in the second direction to each other; a first cover for coveringone surface of the stacked structure in a third direction perpendicularto the first direction and the second direction; and second and thirdcovers configured to cover the stacked structure in the second directionat an outside of the pair of bus bar assemblies respectively, upper andlower ends of which are bent to cover a top and a bottom of the stackedstructure.
 2. The battery module of claim 1, wherein the stackedstructure includes a plurality of cell assemblies including a pair ofbattery cells stacked across a surface pressure pad interposedtherebetween, and wherein the plurality of cell assemblies is stacked inthe first direction.
 3. The battery module of claim 2, wherein, in eachcell assembly of the plurality of cell assemblies, the pair of batterycells are stacked to position respective electrodes having the samepolarity adjacent to each other.
 4. The battery module of claim 2,wherein the plurality of cell assemblies in the stacked structure arestacked on one another to arrange respective electrodes having differentpolarities adjacent to each other.
 5. The battery module of claim 2,wherein the hot melt is coated between the stacked cell assemblies. 6.The battery module of claim 1, wherein the hot melt is coated to have aplurality of rows in a direction parallel to a lengthwise side of abonding surface of the battery cells that surface-contact each other. 7.The battery module of claim 1, wherein the hot melt is coated in amatrix pattern having a plurality of columns and a plurality of rowsparallel to each side of a bonding surface of the battery cells thatsurface-contact each other.
 8. The battery module of claim 1, furthercomprising: a first clamp including opposite ends that are respectivelybonded to the pair of end plates across the first cover at an outside ofthe first cover; and a second clamp including opposite ends that arerespectively bonded to the pair of end plates across a surface of thestacked structure, which faces the surface on which the first cover isdisposed.
 9. The battery module of claim 8, wherein each of the pair ofend plates comprises an internal plate that surface-contacts the stackedstructure and is formed of an insulation material, and an external platethat covers the internal plate at an outside of the internal plate andhas higher rigidity than a rigidity of the internal plate.
 10. Thebattery module of claim 9, wherein the external plate includes an insertspace that is formed at an end adjacent to the first cover, and whereina temperature sensor spaced apart from the stacked structure at apredetermined interval is inserted into the insert space.
 11. Thebattery module of claim 8, wherein the pair of bus bar assembliesincludes a bus bar including a plurality of slits, and wherein regionsof the electrodes of the plurality of battery cells, which arepositioned through the plurality of slits, are bent and connected to thebus bar.
 12. The battery module of claim 8, wherein the pair of bus barassemblies include a circuit configured to detect a voltage of theplurality of battery cells.
 13. The battery module of claim 8, whereinthe first clamp is bonded to the first cover, and wherein the oppositeends of the first clamp are bent to respectively face the pair of endplates and to be bonded to outer surfaces of the pair of end plates. 14.The battery module of claim 8, wherein the opposite ends of the secondclamp are bent to face the pair of end plates and to be bonded to outersurfaces of the pair of end plates.
 15. The battery module of claim 1,wherein the end plate and a lateral portion of the second and thirdcovers are coupled to each other by bolts.